In advance of tonight’s Game 7, we have a rare opportunity in our power rankings to include the past five Stanley Cup champions, which also happen to be the five teams left standing in this year’s NHL playoffs.

Now we could have put the rankings off a day, but why leave it to chance that Detroit will spoil the party and make it only four of the last five? All five are here now, so let’s tee them up before one of them hits the golf course tomorrow.

1. Blackhawks: The best team all year, there’s no reason a seven-game series against the rival Red Wings should be considered anything but a hiccup. Unless, of course, they lose. At home. In Game 7. No chance, right? We’ll find out in a hurry if giving them the top spot in our inaugural NHL power rankings is a jinx. But we’ll bury them when they’re dead. And they’re not dead yet.

2. Penguins: The new trendy favorite that has the distinct advantage over our No. 1 by already advancing past the conference semis. With no East-West matchups all year, Pittsburgh might prove to be the superior team over the one “that saved hockey.”

3. Kings: The defending champs can’t be taken lightly. They’re better than last year, when they won the whole thing as an eight-seed without ever facing elimination. They’ve passed that test now, and if you haven’t been staying up late to watch them dispatch the Sharks in 7, you’ll likely get plenty of earlier chances to see L.A. against Detroit or Chicago.

4. Bruins: A bit of a forgotten team, which is saying a lot when you play in Boston. But maybe being under the radar is exactly where they want to be. Are we selling them short? Perhaps. But we tend to think the lighter shade of gold has more value in the East this year.

5. Red Wings: They seemed a lot more dangerous when they were up 3-1 on Chicago. But one thing people overlooked: Winning 3 consecutive games in a series can’t be “impossible” if the lower-seeded, allegedly weaker team just pulled the trick on the President’s Trophy winner. We’ll find out tonight.